To the editor:
Lansdowne Park is being treated as private property for parking purposes. Is this not still public land?
People expect the same street parking conditions as in the Glebe, namely that parking regulations are not enforced at all hours, but only from Monday to Friday or during specific hours on the weekend. As it now stands, parking tickets are issued at all hours to people who do not buy time at the parking machine. The signage is different from that found in the rest of the city and does not indicate a ticket from the machine is necessary. It just says one-hour parking.
Tickets are $55 or $75, much more than regular street parking ticket fines, and with fewer options for reduction at the City Hall First Visit office. Tickets are even being given to cars with wheelchair permits that have special concessions on city streets. There is no nearby on-street parking available. This will especially become a nuisance when all the shops open.
Some of the businesses (e.g.: TD Bank) have moved from sites with free parking or plenty of on-street parking to this situation. It is not worthwhile to pay a parking fee in order to use a bank machine when we could easily have done it for free at a prior location.
I urge the city to:
– Use the same rules for parking and charge the same fines as elsewhere in the city.
– Give free parking to people frequenting the shops, especially on evenings and weekends.
James Hunter
